Commitment

A big difference I have noticed between "successful" and"unsuccessful" people is their levels of commitment. People who want something, but don't set their mind to getting it, won't. We have to believe in our own abilities, take a little bit of wise risk, and trust in the power of the Lord to reach those things that we want. But if we don't commit to doing something 100%, we often will fall short, when we could have reached the end if only we had had a better mindset. I have a tendency to not finish things that seem hard or take too long (I think we all do, and very few people really overcome this weakness). Some examples are in that I say to myself, "I wish I were good at ___________ (basketball, soccer, the french horn, piano, singing with vibrato, studying for a test, etc.)," and then I try a few times to be good, but don't commit to becoming good. This results in me giving up at the first signs of opposition and difficulty. An example of what is better to do is when I tell myself "I am going to get an 'A' in this class," and then I pay attention and take good notes in class, do all of the homework, ask for help when I get lost or fall behind, and study on a regular basis (not just cram for a test). The difference is that I commit to getting the good grade, whereas I would just like to acquire the skill without doing my part.

The Lord wants us to be good at many things, and will help us, if we do our part. One of my favorite scriptures is James 2:17, which says: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." This helps me to realize that I can't just hope for things which I don't have at the present, but have to work for them. This applies both to personal attributes as well as to testimonies. If we want to strengthen our testimonies of something, we have to work for it: study it, apply it, pray about it, teach it, testify of it. We have to take risks.

Commitment is a synonym of Covenant. When we make a covenant, or promise with the Lord, we have to make it with all the intentions of  keeping it. The Lord knows our hearts and also our weaknesses. He knows if we don't intend on following through, but he also understands that we will make mistakes and fall short in many ways. But we have to live the Gospel every day, recommitting ourselves to be obedient, and to live up to the promises we've made. As we make this daily commitment, we will find more strength in making decisions between right and wrong. Likewise, as we daily commit to personal goals, such as exercise, we will find added strength to get up and do it. If we don't commit to it, any and every little distraction or excuse will take precedence. This also applies to repentance: if we commit to overcoming our weaknesses and our faults, we will DO things to change and improve. But if we just think it might be a good idea, or something we SHOULD do, we'll never seem to get around to doing it.


Commitment is also great because it stretches our potential. If on a hike, we are feeling tired, and we tell ourselves, "OK, I can at least make it to that next hill," we will go further than if we just decide to sit down. We can break down our commitments into smaller pieces to make them seem more manageable. Work on one thing at a time that needs improvement, and soon we will be much better than we ever expected. The Lord can help us reach new potentials as well. I taught the Gospel to a couple in Arrecifes, Argentina that was looking at separating, but didn't want to because they had small children they wanted to be there for. They committed to reading the scriptures and praying every day. Within a month, they decided to get married, rather than separating, because as they committed to keep some of the commandments, the Lord helped them to change and to grow, in many ways.

We can't let others pull us from our commitments, especially our covenants. It's true, life isn't fair, and things usually don't work out like we want them to or hope they will, but that need not change our personal promise to do what we say we will. It is in these hard times that we make a little more effort to keep our word that we really grow the most. The most important is that we commit to do what is right, and don't change that goal even if everyone we know rejects us for doing so.

I know that if we commit to do many small things, that we will accomplish many great things. Also, as we fall short of our goals and covenants, we can repent and be forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through the Atonement we can also be enabled to do things that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to learn from our mistakes. If we commit to follow him, we will find more joy than we knew was possible.